Kansas Lawmakers To Start Work On Education Funding Bill

This week, a Kansas House committee could consider a bill to comply with a state Supreme Court ruling on education funding. It comes after the process got off to a rocky start last week.

The bill would increase money for certain education funds that are aimed at reducing disparities between districts. But the bill includes other education policy changes, and the lawmaker who introduced it included an expansion of charter schools in the proposal.

That surprised House Speaker Ray Merrick, a Stilwell Republican, who said charter schools hadn't been part of the negotiations. Merrick said Friday that he would introduce a new bill without the charter schools expansion to advance the process.

"I do want to get this thing to the courts and address the equity issue, get their decision and let's move on with life," said Merrick.

State Representative Marc Rhoades added the charter schools expansion to the bill. The Newton Republican says he wasn't trying to undermine negotiations on the issue, but he wanted to add charter schools to the discussion.